论闽语时间名词“字”

Origin of Time-marker "Zi(字)" in Min Dialect and Its Contributing Factors

与普通话相比,闽语有一个特殊的时间表达方式,即用"字"表示"五分钟"。这个"字"是来自于中国古代的计时单位,即刻与刻之间的两个特殊符号,后来随着钟表的普及,"字"具有了"五分钟"的新意义。在现代汉语中"字"的功能仍然在不断扩展,含义更加丰富。

In modem Min Dialect, a lot of ancient Chinese elements such as the time-markers ＂min （螟）＂, ＂bu （晡）＂ and ＂zhou （昼）＂ are still preserved and used widely. Compared with Mandarin, Min Dialect has a special way of expressing time, namely, the use of ＂zi （字）＂ for five minutes. So five minutes is called ＂shu zi （蜀字）＂, ten minutes ＂liang zi （两字）＂, and fifteen minutes ＂＇san zi （三字）＂. About the origin of this time-marker, there exist different opinions, all of which cannot be proved with convincing evidence. Through an investigation into literatures and modem dialects, it is found that this time-marker originated in ancient times. Besides, this paper examines its current usage and the contributing factors.